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Karin Kojima
Karin Kojima is a Japanese professional wrestler, idol and Tarento. She is currently signed with EVO (Evolution Wrestling) Early Life Rin Takayama (高山倫 Takayama Rin) was born on June 14, 1996 in Yokohama, Japan. Growing up as she stated 'very poor', she was interested in a lot of subjects but mostly: Wrestling and singing. Because her mother was a good singer, father also loved music and her uncle, who she loved dearly, along with her brother were amateur wrestlers and all of them used to watch major wrestling shows every week and practice with each other such as NJPW, DDT, etc. She moved to Yokohama at the age of 10, In her first year in junior high, she participated in wrestling and studied karate for next 4 years. Her wrestling coach called her 'A unique superstar in the making'. Idol career and Early career (2010 - 2013, 2014) In 2010, she was signed to an entertainment talent agency, after becoming a runner-up in an idol audition held by the company, even though she didn't want to do it at all but her friend forced her to participate. In late 2010, the company formed a 7-member group (originally) called HIKARI! She left the group in May 2013 to return to her more deep passion; Wrestling. And after months of intense training and months of working at different jobs due to financial struggles, as it was so bad she was almost homeless, she was discovered by a local who works for a wrestling company and by December 2014, she debuted as a professional wrestler in a Japanese independent promotion, at the age of 18. She was on her way to becoming a star until she requested released after only six months after scary injury on her leg that required surgery. BCW, Other promotions (2014-2017) In 2014, she moved to the United States to learn some English and signed a deal with BCW. She very quickly became an international heartthrob, especially when she 'unexpectedly' won the Women's Championship in a Triple Threat against Amy Winter and (former) Champion Jade in July 2015. She would reign as the champion until November 2015 . She stayed in BCW until late 2016 and wrestled for other small promotions for a very brief time in early 2017. She went on a short hiatus, returned to Japan and eventually became a Tarento (celebrities who regularly appear in mass media in Japan, especially television). EVO (2018 - Present) After her release, in Mid 2018, she signed a contract with a new wrestling promotion company called EVO (aka Evolution Wrestling, or Evolution Online Wresling.) But she wasn't active for 4-5 months due to knee surgery. Soon as her surprising return and technically debut on EVO, she immediately became the new face of the women's division and heartthrob of the company for some time. On January 2019, she faced undisputed champion Teya Hunter and defeated her and contender Amber Lopez in a very intense Triple Threat match, winning the EVO women's champion, becoming the 2nd women in history to win the title. She reigned until she lost her title in June 2019, in a controversial rematch against Teya Hunter in a No DQ match. Teya Hunter is now the first and only so far, 2x women's champion. August 2019, she formed a tag team with fellow superstar Megumii and they debuted their tag name as Sukeban X to face against Kitiana Baker and Evelyn Gregory (TRUBLE) to win the Women's Tag Team Champions. 1 month later, Sukeban X defeats TRUBLE in their championship match, becoming the 1st women tag team champions ever in the history of EVO. Karin can be an all-around athlete but because of her early background of karate, she is a unique wrestler who is an extraordinary striker. She is also talented as a submission user, being trained by other wrestlers and a Jujitsu teacher. In Japan, some fans dubbed her as 'Princess Striker' or 'The Strike Queen', sometimes 'Idol Fighter'. Other Media Karin also announced in November 2019 that she will return briefly with her former group HIKARI! for a 10 year reunion album that will release in 2020. Her and close friend, Sukeban X member Megumii became models for a magazine issue cover titled FLASH on November 2019. Category:Wrestling Category:Japan